St. Patrick's Day in St. Louis is a true celebration there are two parades. One of the parades is in Downtown St. Louis, the other is in Dogtown. Dogtown is an area in St Louis City the boundaries of which are hotly debated by some. After all we all want to be Irish on St Pat's and we all want to live in Dogtown if we are Irish!

            I am a Dogtown girl,so-of course I have a personal preference for the parade in Dogtown. The Dogtown parade is hosted by the Ancient Order of Hibernians and it is always held on St. Patrick's Day March 17th. The parade traditionally begins at noon on Wells close to the zoo.

However this year (2009) it will begin at 11:30Am due to highway construction issues. Due to constuction on I-64 the parade route has been modified . Parade units will assemble on the North side of Oakland Avenue and on the east and West sides of Tamm. The units will travel South on Tamm past St. James and end at Lloyd Avenue

             If you get hungry after the parade  St. James the Greater Catholic Church holds their annual fund-raiser serving Corned Beef and Cabbage to the masses.

 Seamus McDaniel's at 1208 Tamm will serve a great meal for those hungry parade attendees. Or, you could stroll up to Pat's across from Turtle Park on 6400 Oakland (at Tamm)

HOURS:
Monday - Saturday
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Kitchen closes:  
Monday-Thursday at 10:30p.m.
Friday and Saturday at 11:00 p.m

        The  Annual Downtown Parade starts at Market and 18th streets and will travel Eastbound this year to its end at Broadway and Market. The parade begins at noon on March 14th "rain or shine" The route opens at 7:30am To see the parade route click this link:

St. Louis St. Patrick's Day Parade Route 

The Parade ends at the Irish Village in Kiener Plaza where you will find food and beverages from St. Louis restaurants, Irish specialties and merchandise for sale, family activities, and live music. The Irish Village is open before,during , and after the parade.

The Michelob Ultra St. Patrick's Day Run takes place at 9:00 am the day of the parade.  The five mile run will have over  7,000 participants. There are competitive and non-competitive categories.The Run begins at 9th & Market Streets, and finishes at 18th & Market Streets, after making a 5 mile loop through Downtown and Midtown.

The St. Louis' annual Irish celebration, the St. Patrick's Day Parade "Meet the Irish" Dinner, takes place at 6:00 PM on Friday, March 13, 2009, the night before the Parade, at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, in Downtown St. Louis. It is a formal evening of dinner and entertainment.

 St. Louis' annual Irish celebration, the St. Patrick's Day Parade Irish Dinner, takes place at 6:00 PM on Friday, March 13, 2009, the night before the Parade, at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, in Downtown St. Louis. It is a formal evening of dinner and entertainment.

Hey Friends!

 I want you all to stop by Dale's Blog She is a newbie from St. Louis.      

Out of a room full of people that attended my presentation on Social Media...she's the only one (so far) thats dipped her toes into the pool!  I'm so proud of her.  Her first Blog she blew it out of the park with a tongue-in-cheek look St. Louis driving. 

I know she has a lot to contribute to our community...so if you will pop in and say hello,

I promise you won't be sorry!

When I take Buyers around to view homes they often give the homes "pet" names. Thanks Gary, I needed a new term for it! 

                                                                  The first of these homes was the "stinky house"

The second "The cluttered house" 

And the  third "The Rooster House"  Thanks Elaine!

         This post is about the "old house". When I say old I don't necessarily mean the house is old. Older well maintained,and updated homes, are very desirable. Many other factors can make a home feel dated.

         How long has it been since you painted? Is your paint chipped at the corners ,or dingy? Painting is a relatively inexpensive way to update your home. It also makes your home smell better (especially for you smokers). What about your ceilings? Do you have cracks or old water spots (don't cover up water spots if you have an active leak...FIX IT FIRST) Time to fill in the cracks, paint the water spots with KITZ and get your ceiling in shape.

         Do you have wallpaper? Get rid of it and paint the room a neutral color.

         Do you have sculptured carpet from the 80's? A "beautiful" blue carpet? Or worse yet are all your bedrooms carpeted in different colors?  An investment in new neutral carpet can really pay off in terms of a faster sale, and it too makes your home smell fresher, and newer. Better yet you may have a hidden treasure under the carpet. You might be lucky enough to have a hardwood floor uder those old carpets...What a find!

          What do your light fixtures look like? Buyers  equate light and bright with clean. We all know nothing can substitute for clean! Lowes or Home Depot have light fixtures that give your home an updated look, and they can be relatively inexpensive.

What about your Kitchen, and Bathroom cabinets? Are they older and dated. The Kitchen and Bath are two very important rooms. Did you know you can get cabinet paint and paint your cabinets a nice white or neutral color...add some updated pulls,and voila...a whole new look.

                                               Next in the series..."the peek-a-boo house"

When taking out my Buyer clients I realized they very often gave the homes they saw a nickname.  In the first of this series I addressed  "The Stinky house" 

 The second post is about the "Cluttered House" 

In this post I will be addressing the "Rooster House" This one is dedicated to my friend Elaine, and her love of Roosters. This could just as easily be the wallpaper house,the purple house or...you get the point. Too much of a good thing is just that, TOO MUCH. I know you love your stuffed roosters, but if the Buyers start counting how many you have, instead of paying attention to your home,you have overdone it.  It started out simple, you saw a rooster that you just had to have, and your kids knowing that you liked them decided to give them to you for every birthday, Christmas, and any other holiday that came around. You don't want to hurt their feelings, so you display them proudly. I'm telling you...pack them away! When you move you can"forget' to put them out again, or better yet you can "save them" for your granddaughter that loves them too. Oh, and while you are at it, get rid of the wallpaper, especially if it has Roosters on it!

Next in the series.... The "OLD HOUSE"              

When taking out my Buyer clients I realized they very often gave the homes they saw a nickname.  In the first of this series I addressed  "The Stinky house"  This post is about the "Cluttered House"

The Garage                                                                                          

I had a client that had a large three car garage, a wonderful asset in an area that often has either no garage, or at best a one car garage. This garage was so full of junk she could barely park her small car in it. I pointed out to her, that when I hold open homes,very often the man will head to one of two places, the garage, or the basement. Since the three car garage was a wonderful asset in this community she was losing out on the opportunity to showcase this valuable asset.

Now, cleaning out the garage is not a chore any of us particularly enjoy,but if you are moving when is there a better time to go through all the junk you have accumulated and do a thorough cleanse! You don't want to move a bunch of things you no longer need...so bite the bullet...and do it now.  

                                       After you have swept and cleaned the space (which cost you nothing but time) you could spend a little on some organizational shelving, and maybe paint the floor with some cement paint to really clean it up.

 People want to see an environment that looks clean and organized. If they are moving from a smaller home...they want to see themselves living in a larger, well organized space. After all its their "dream home".

The Basement                                                                                                      

Another clutter trap. The basement very often holds a lot of things you should have gotten rid of a long time ago,it was just easier to move it "out of sight". In St. Louis we cannot include the basement square footage in the homes total square footage, but of course a clean, dry, organized basement is an asset that we St Louisans appreciate.

Once again...costs you nothing but time. You will appreciate it when you move. And when your home sells more quickly than the one down the block.

Closets                                                                                                                 

You don't think they do...but...they do! Buyers look in your closets,your cabinets, your pantry, and your medicine cabinet. By the way please put your medications away, not in your bathroom cabinet. We try to keep an eye on Buyers, but we can't follow them into the bathroom.So, they will look in all these places because they want to see how much room they will have to store their "stuff" A linen closet with fresh, folded towels is appealing to just about everyone.

  Another thing that costs you nothing, and pays off big.

Ok, you know how I said men love to go to the garage and the basement? Women love the kitchen and the bathrooms. Make sure they are clean as a whistle and well organized. Never, never, leave your dishes in the sink ...it just looks bad.    

                                                     Next in the series..."The rooster house"

                                  This ones for you Elaine! hahahaha

           Often when Buyers and their Agents are out looking at homes, after seeing only a few they all start to run together. In order to keep these homes straight in their minds,and be able to discuss the homes with their agent, Buyers tend to give the homes nicknames. These nicknames can range from the positive..."the pretty house" to the very negative "the dirty house".  This will be a series dealing with the negative,obviously, because if your home is "the pretty house", you are already doing it right!

The first, and surely one of the most negative, is "the stinky house".  We have a saying "If you can smell it...you can't sell it!" That goes for the bad smells (pet odors, cigarette smoke, mold) as well as the "good" smells...the overpowering smell of air fresheners, or scented candles. I would much rather walk into a home that just smells clean, than one with the odor of floral air freshener. It makes me (and the Buyer) wonder what smell you are trying to cover up. Also the scent of some of these can trigger migraine headaches, I know this firsthand...wow, what a bummer! Believe me when I say when I walk into a home that has been "floralized" I can't wait to get out before the pounding in my skull begins.

Pet Odors

The are a lot of products that work great for pet odor removal, Urine Gone, Odorzout,and Exstink are just a few. But first ,before you use any product, clean, clean, and clean some more.

There are vacuum cleaners with special filters that can help, or at least clean out the bag and put some baking soda in the new bag. Then shampoo your carpets. That means getting a professional carpet cleaner that specializes in odor removal to come and clean your carpets and upholstery. You probably can't smell your buddies-you have gotten used to their smell. Believe me when I say that other people can smell your little friends. Don't ask your human friends if your house smells. If they are around a lot -they are used to it too. If they aren't around a lot -they will lie to spare your feelings.

Cigarette Smoke               

        Once again, there is no substitute for clean. Unfortunately cigarette smoke goes everywhere. All soft surfaces need to be cleaned, as well as the walls, windows,doors, and woodwork. There are a variety of cleaners on the market that are good for neutralizing cigarette odor. Zorbx,and Banish, are a couple. But  simple and effective household cleaners like vinegar, and baking soda can be just as good or better than a lot of specialized cleaners. You can then use air purifiers to help as well. After you clean... Don't Smoke In The House...not even one. Notice I'm not telling you to quit smoking, if you could do that you would have done it already. Personally, I don't want to have to deal with the stress of a Seller jonesing for a cigarette, while dealing with the stress of selling their home.

BEFORE BED
First get rid of all cigarette/cigarette ash and wash ashtrays in dishwasher or very hot water and baking soda.
1. sprinkle baking soda on all fabric covered furniture.
2. Wash all linens & take out all trash
3. Steam all draperies (hand held steamer usually less than $20 at places like Wal-Mart and Target. Put 3 drops of any essential oil in water if you like or 1/8 tsp. of white vinegar).
4. leave out small dishes of white vinegar near affected furniture.
5. Sprinkle carpets with odor neutralizer made for carpet.

NEXT MORNING
1. vacuum all furniture and carpets.
2. spray all soft surfaces with white unflavored vodka and (this also works on dry-cleanables. It removes odor and kills bacteria).
3. get rid of dishes of vinegar.
4. do your normal cleaning on all hard surfaces.
5. light some nice neutralising candles, get a glass of your favorite spirit, sit back, don't smoke inside, and enjoy the clean!

Food Odor

Some food odors are really objectionable. The smell of cabbage,fish,fried foods,and some pungent spices are a few. First,try not to cook these extra smelly items when your home is on the market.To get rid of these odors try boiling a cup of water and 1 to 2 tablespoons of vinegar for a few minutes (don't let the pan boil dry). Turn on fans to help dissipate the smell. Also, you should clean out the stove, and microwave vents. The filters can trap odors inside your home. You can also put whole bean coffee, or lemons out in a bowl for a nice natural smell.

Moldy or Musty Smells

To prevent mold and mildew growth, be aware of rooms and areas around your home that will be susceptible to mold and mildew (bathrooms,and basements) and practice a regular cleaning regimen to prevent mold and mildew growth. If possible, take steps to reduce the heat and humidity (use a dehumidifier) that allows  mold and mildew to grow. There are natural cleaners that can kill  the mold spores,and bacteria ...vinegar, baking soda,lemon juice are some of the best, and healthiest you can use.  Think clean and dry.

Next in the Series " The Cluttered House"